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revdorothyl at 04:23pm on 01/09/2004 under movie reviews
revdorothyl at 04:23pm on 01/09/2004 under movie reviewsAfter a much-dreaded cleaning and check-up at the dentist's yesterday, I decided to treat myself to some movie fun, and -- knowing full well that nobody I know would be likely to go with me to see that film -- I chose to start with Alien vs. Predator.
'And RevD saw that it was good . . . '
Surprised the heck out of me, too, really, since the one review I'd read had been less than positive.
Now, I'm not claiming that Alien vs. Predator is going to give you much food for thought or make you want to go back and see it again and again, but it was quite engaging and engrossing. It kept my interest with no problems for 90+ minutes, and even managed to genuinely surprise me a couple of times.
Even more interesting (to me personally, if to no one else) was the reason I'd been drawn to see that particular film, instead of several better-reviewed films beginning at the same time: it all comes down to 'mother issues', I guess you could say.
[cut for length -- no movie spoilers below]
I didn't put it all together until I was seated in the theater (a huge theater at the multiplex, and me the only person in it! -- talk about your 'large-screen TV'!).
My sister phoned me on Sunday afternoon, and happened to mention that she'd gone to see Hero with Mom and Dad on Friday. I said that Mom had already e-mailed me a glowing recommendation of the film. And then Sis commented, a bit grumpily, that she'd repeatedly tried to get Mom to go see Around the World in 80 Days (a charming and fun movie which Sis had much enjoyed), with no success. But after reading one good review in the newspaper, Mom had been very keen to see Hero, which is not at all the sort of film Sis thought Mom would enjoy.
Laughingly, I told Sis that our Mom has a bit of a 'dark side', and that it was Mom who'd gone with me to see the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Predator many years ago, and had enjoyed the experience. I was more than pleased with Sis's reaction to this 'news' (equal parts shock and amusement), and I heard no more grousing about Hero thereafter.
Then, while watching Alien vs. Predator yesterday, I was pleased to see that most of the 'in-jokes', parallels, and references to the "Alien" franchise were related to my absolute favorite installment, the second film Aliens -- in which James Cameron was, once again, working out his anxieties about mothers and motherhood on film (especially in the Director's Cut version).
Aliens for me is, first and foremost, a film about the extremes a mother of any species will go to in order to protect her young. It is Ripley's maternal feeling, more than anything else, which allows her to become a kind of 'monster' in her own right, in order to be able to go "mano a mandible" with the supremely monstrous Alien queen . . . and kick her opponent's chitinous butt out an airlock!
As a daughter who grew up both fearing my mother's wrath and fearing FOR my mother's physical fragility (for instance, she'd try to spank one of us when we were little, and break a blood vessel in her wrist, so she'd be in more pain than we were, half the time), I've always found the 'righteous warrior mother' figure to be very compelling (a mother whose wrath is turned to protecting her child, and whose strength and durability are beyond question).
So, for me, Alien vs. Predator was both a way of feeling closer to my mother (as if she were there in the theater with me, rather than three states away) and a way of allaying my fears for and about my mother.
I'll stop now, so as to avoid giving away any spoilers for the movie. But it was well worth my six dollars as entertainment, and an incredible bargain as psychotherapy!
'And RevD saw that it was good . . . '
Surprised the heck out of me, too, really, since the one review I'd read had been less than positive.
Now, I'm not claiming that Alien vs. Predator is going to give you much food for thought or make you want to go back and see it again and again, but it was quite engaging and engrossing. It kept my interest with no problems for 90+ minutes, and even managed to genuinely surprise me a couple of times.
Even more interesting (to me personally, if to no one else) was the reason I'd been drawn to see that particular film, instead of several better-reviewed films beginning at the same time: it all comes down to 'mother issues', I guess you could say.
[cut for length -- no movie spoilers below]
I didn't put it all together until I was seated in the theater (a huge theater at the multiplex, and me the only person in it! -- talk about your 'large-screen TV'!).
My sister phoned me on Sunday afternoon, and happened to mention that she'd gone to see Hero with Mom and Dad on Friday. I said that Mom had already e-mailed me a glowing recommendation of the film. And then Sis commented, a bit grumpily, that she'd repeatedly tried to get Mom to go see Around the World in 80 Days (a charming and fun movie which Sis had much enjoyed), with no success. But after reading one good review in the newspaper, Mom had been very keen to see Hero, which is not at all the sort of film Sis thought Mom would enjoy.
Laughingly, I told Sis that our Mom has a bit of a 'dark side', and that it was Mom who'd gone with me to see the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Predator many years ago, and had enjoyed the experience. I was more than pleased with Sis's reaction to this 'news' (equal parts shock and amusement), and I heard no more grousing about Hero thereafter.
Then, while watching Alien vs. Predator yesterday, I was pleased to see that most of the 'in-jokes', parallels, and references to the "Alien" franchise were related to my absolute favorite installment, the second film Aliens -- in which James Cameron was, once again, working out his anxieties about mothers and motherhood on film (especially in the Director's Cut version).
Aliens for me is, first and foremost, a film about the extremes a mother of any species will go to in order to protect her young. It is Ripley's maternal feeling, more than anything else, which allows her to become a kind of 'monster' in her own right, in order to be able to go "mano a mandible" with the supremely monstrous Alien queen . . . and kick her opponent's chitinous butt out an airlock!
As a daughter who grew up both fearing my mother's wrath and fearing FOR my mother's physical fragility (for instance, she'd try to spank one of us when we were little, and break a blood vessel in her wrist, so she'd be in more pain than we were, half the time), I've always found the 'righteous warrior mother' figure to be very compelling (a mother whose wrath is turned to protecting her child, and whose strength and durability are beyond question).
So, for me, Alien vs. Predator was both a way of feeling closer to my mother (as if she were there in the theater with me, rather than three states away) and a way of allaying my fears for and about my mother.
I'll stop now, so as to avoid giving away any spoilers for the movie. But it was well worth my six dollars as entertainment, and an incredible bargain as psychotherapy!